Saturday, September 13, 2008

When you're raised in the ghetto and you're either unaware or deprived of the many resources that society has to offer, you learn to make due with what you have. In that regard, I was fortunate enough to recognize at a very early age that the acquisition of knowledge, and the ability to think, is free. So while my economic condition may have restricted me to the ghetto, there was no force on Earth that could limit my mind through the imposition of caste and privilege. If one is determined to seek out knowledge, the opportunities are just as vast at the corner library, as at Harvard University. Thus, one must choose to be ignorant.

With that insight in hand, I tried to compensate for the deficit in my formal education by making every effort to mold myself into the most logical and objective thinker that I was capable of becoming. As a result of that effort, I quickly found that those skills served as a great defense against the condescensding hubris of those who presume to be better educated, and more intellectually astute.

It also became clear during my attempt to hone my syllogistic edges, that most people, regardless of how intelligent or well educated, are inefficient thinkers. We tend to think backwards. Instead of following facts to a logical conclusion, I've found that most people tend to formulate convenient, knee-jerk conclusions consistent with what they want to believe, and only then, try to find the facts to justify their preconceived positions. As a result, while they may derive comfort through their fallacious web of beliefs, their behavior, and their entire view of the world is based on a fantasy of erroneous misconceptions. The Republican Party has built its entire existence on this human failing, and it owes its very success to those who thrive on carefully chosen factoids rather than accurate information.

But again, one must choose to be ignorant. So in an attempt to mitigate my own failing in this area, I've come up with a simple proposition that governs my analysis of the world: "Efficient thought requires that we first, see life as it is, and only then, as we would have it." Following that prescription has not always made me the most popular guy among my peers, but it has served me well in analyzing the world around me. It would also serve America well, because it would prevent us from allowing demagogues to circumvent our common sense through appealing to our emotions, which is the primary cause of the harrowing condition that we now find ourselves.

We knew full well, for example, prior to our invasion of Iraq, that Saddam Hussein had absolutely nothing to do with nine-eleven. And the U.N. Inspectors were unequivocal in their position that he had no weapons of mass destruction. Yet, instead of following our common sense, we followed our emotions.

Since we were frustrated over the fact that Osama Bin Laden was beyond our reach, Bush and his neocon cronies knew we were ripe for a "good ole fashion war" that would play well on America's emotional need for vindication over the embarrassment of being run out of Vietnam thirty years earlier. So we made the racist decision, as a direct result of manipulation by the Bush administration, that any Muslim would do.

Ever since the United States was so unceremoniously booted out of Vietnam, the Republican Party's sole mission in life has been to sell America grossly inflated theater tickets and over-priced popcorn for the luxury of reliving America's greatness during WWII. That's why with every other sentence the words "war", "nine-eleven", "victory", and "hero" rolls off Republican tongues like honey, and every time Bush gives a speech he has a row of uniformed men standing behind him. It's been the quintessential campaign tactic, and provides a perfect explanation of why Americans continue to vote Republican against their own best interests. The tactic has allowed the American people to exist in a virtual fantansyland that's resistant--in fact, hostile--to all appeals to common sense.

And if you'll notice, the Republican Party has an uncanny ability to benefit from every American hardship. If you look back over the last eight years, it becomes immediately clear that the Republican Party and the Bush cronies have actually benefitted from nine-eleven. While the American people have suffered the loss of loved ones, Bush, Cheney, and his high profile neocons haven't sacrificed one thing for this war; and while the American people are suffering from the loss of jobs, home foreclosures, and hugely inflated gas prices, Halliburton, the oil companies, and virtually all Republican-aligned business constituencies are enjoying record profits. So, it's no wonder Bush refused to leave Iraq, and instead, was so enthusiastic in challenging Al-Qaeda to "Bring it on!" He had nothing to lose, but a few poor and middle class kids, and everything to gain.

One would think that the American people would recognize these facts, but their ability to think has been circumvented through an appeal to their emotions. Now they've rolled out Sarah Palin, who they claim "represents the interest of American's women"–in spite of the fact that her politics is diametrically opposed to 95% of them; and that she's "a devout Christian"–in spite of the fact that she loves nothing more than killing God's creatures for sport; and of course, she's "a bull dog with lipstick" who's ready to go to war against Russia, in a tip of the obligatory hat to militarism.

Well, if she's all that, why did they take such pains to hide her from the press? Well, I suppose her interview answered that question, but I think they're going to find that after that episode, some things are too ridiculous to even slip passed the emotions.

So who is Sarah Palin?

Right off the bat, we know she's a woman who's willing to throw her seventeen year old daughter under the bus for her own selfish, political ambition. And we also know that she hasn't had one constructive, or non-divisive thing to say since she's entered the national debate.

In addition, by claiming to have been against "The Bridge to Nowhere", we know she's willing to look the American people in the eye while she tells a boldface lie; and by threatening to fire Wasilla's librarian for refusing to ban books that she didn't like, we know she's willing to use her clout to shove her personal beliefs down the throats of the American people; then, by actually firing Alaska's public safety commissioner, Walt Monegan, for refusing fire her former brother-n-law, we know that she's more than willing to abuse the power of her office to promote her personal agenda; and by supporting the Alaska independence movement in their agenda to take the state's oil and separate from the United States, we know that she has "other priorities", that are more important to her than what's in the best interest nation.

So who is Sarah Palin?

It’s quite clear through the eyes of this humble hood-rat--she’s Dick Cheney in drag, though not quite as smart.

Society Of Professional Journalists

Eric L. Wattree

Strive To Become Your Own Hero... Then Let No One Remove Your Cape.

BIO

Eric L. Wattree is a writer, poet, and musician, born in Los Angeles. He’s been a columnist for The Los Angeles Sentinel, Black Star News, The Atlanta Post, and is a member of the Sigma Delta Chi Society of Professional Journalists (http://www.spj.org/). He’s also the author of "A Message From the Hood."Some of the greatest minds I’ve ever known held court while sitting on empty milk crates in the parking lots of ghetto liquor stores, while some of the weakest minds I’ve ever known roamed the halls of academia in pursuit of credentials over knowledge.Eric L. Wattreehttp://www.whohub.com/wattree

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The Hater

Am I a hater, you ask? You're damn right I'm a hater. I hate injustice. I hate hypocrisy. I also hate demagoguery, apathy, and the stupidity that allows it to exist. Hater? Absolutely. I'm a big time hater. I hate what I see happening to this country, and I hate watching the development of a culture that embraces ignorance with a stupid sense of pride. So yes, I am indeed a hater, but not only that - I'm a hater with a very low threshold for bullshit, so step off.